


The Fairy Effect

by 52Dreamer52



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Nalu - Freeform, Pancakes, The Fairy Effect, Writing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:15:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26562742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/52Dreamer52/pseuds/52Dreamer52
Summary: In which no matter what world, no matter what universe, they would find each other, and they would love each other all over again. Because sometimes people don't get happy endings, but at least they have the hope that they'll find each other again somewhere else.
Relationships: Natsu Dragneel/Lucy Heartfilia
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I got this idea from something I thought about with Nalu and Fanfics. It was like, fanfics are so cool because it's like they're all different universes yet Natsu and Lucy still find a way to each other, even if the ending is sad sometimes, they know they'll meet again, just in a different world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hoped you like this short bit, I'll be posting the next chapter up in a short while, so yeah. Enjoy!

The Fairy Effect: It didn’t happen to many, but it did happen to some. No matter what world, no matter what universe, they would find each other, and they would love each other all over again.

* * *

“Lucy?” he said. An aching weight settled on his chest, and he couldn’t seem to take in any air. He tried swallowing, hoping to get rid of whatever lump was in his throat. He didn’t want to cry, didn’t want to believe there was any reason to. People only did that when something sad happened, didn’t they? There wasn’t anything wrong, so he shouldn’t want to cry, but as he got closer to the body, their chest rising and falling harshly, even he couldn’t stop the tears from falling.

“L-Lu—” He tried swallowing again as his voice shook. His eyes landed on the golden hair that was spread along the concrete floor, and his hands began to shake. 

Natsu crumbled to the floor and brought her body close to him. Tears welled up in his eyes as he held the love of his life in his arms. Her face grew blurry, and despite not wanting to blink, he did, and the tears came falling down with it. 

It wasn’t supposed to go like this. She wasn’t supposed to be in his arms, bleeding. They still had Movie Night to finish. She was only going to get snacks. “Lucy,  _ please _ ," he begged despite knowing how pointless it would be, "y-you can’t go, not yet. We still have all those adventures you want to go on, remember? I need you. I can’t do this without you. I-I can’t—”

How long had it been? How long had she just been laying there, helpless? Did she call for him while on the ground? She said she would be okay. She said she would be fine, and despite the nagging feeling he had gotten before, telling him to go with her, he didn’t. She said to trust her, even if it was late. He would always trust Lucy. There was no reason not to. But now? Now he wished he had listened to himself.

“Na...Natsu,” she breathed, halting his words. Her voice was so soft...like she was about to fall asleep. 

His eyes burned, and he couldn’t tell whether it was from his crying or the cold that stung his cheeks. He felt a sob coming up, threatening to rack his body, but he held it down. 

Lucy brought a hand up to caress his face and smiled. Her hands were cold; they were always cold, but this time he didn’t know what to do about it. The only thing he could think about was how she could possibly smile right now. “Don’t cry, we’ll meet again. Pro—” she coughed, and blood fell onto her lips. Her lips weren’t supposed to be stained with red. Only lipstick did that.“Promise," she finally said. "No matter...what world...no...no matter…” Her breathing grew slow and heavy, and he could tell she was holding on as best he could, so he finished for her, bringing her body closer to him. Maybe he could keep her warm. Maybe it would keep her alive.

He held her gaze as the life drained from her eyes, and despite dying, he saw no fear in them. It was the only thing remotely close to giving Natsu hope in that situation. If Lucy wasn’t afraid, then he shouldn’t be either. Because they would be okay, wouldn’t they? 

He spoke, sniffling between words as his voice shook. “No matter what universe, I’ll find you, and I’ll love you all over again,” Natsu whispered. He kissed her just once more on the lips as her body grew limp, and another one of his tears fell on her still face. 

His brain still tried denying what was in front of him, and for a second, he thought she might jump up and hug him, maybe laugh at him before she kissed him back. But that didn’t happen, and this wasn’t a movie. So when the pain of what felt like his heart being ripped in half and then shredded finally got to him, he cried.

He cried towards the sky, cried into the cold November air, for once wishing that rain would come down to wash away the tears. He cried until he couldn’t even tell if tears were coming down his face and his throat ran ragged, but no one heard him. No one but himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone who happened to notice, yes I did change this chapter. While I was rereading it, I didn't like what I was reading. So I added more details and, hopefully, made it better. That's it now, thanks!


	2. Late Night Cravings

If you asked Lucy how many times a day she had food cravings, she would tell you she didn't know. Because she didn't. She wanted specific types of food so many times throughout the day that it was almost ridiculous. With so many, she rarely acted on those craves. It's not like she needed to.

But she wanted pancakes so bad right now, even if it was 11:00 in the evening. There was an IHOP so close to her apartment that she could just walk there and get her pancakes. It was simple! So restraining herself was pointless, she told herself, especially when pancakes were calling her name for over a week.

Quickly, Lucy put on her shoes and a thin sweater as she trotted down the stairs and towards the IHOP.

At least, she thought she was. In such a daze, she couldn't hear the fast-moving feet behind her until they were crashing into her so forcefully that she thought she would crack her skull on the pavement.

And yet again, that wasn't what happened. Instead, a hand went to snatch hers and pull her into an alley they just so happened to be near. He may have saved her from falling, but now she was in another predicament she didn't want to be in.

With absolute fury coursing through her veins, she was about to backhand the person who thought grabbing her was a good idea when the warmth radiating off of them flooded her veins and calmed her down, making her even more confused than she was before. Slowly, her hand lowered as the stranger's breath fanned over her face, their hand placed high on her waist. At least he had the decency to do that.

When an exhale of relief escaped him, she demanded right away, "What the hell did you think you were doing?"

"Well—" he tried saying.

"More importantly, who the hell are you? And why the hell were you running in the first place?"

"If you just—" they tried again.

"I mean, did you think running that quickly was a good idea? It's almost midnight!" Lucy gasped. "Oh my God, are you a criminal? Did you commit a crime? I should be calling the cops! You could have—could have—"

"If you just let me explain!" the man exclaimed, stopping Lucy's train of thought. The man in front of her sighed, and it was only then Lucy realized she was asking questions and demanding things without even giving him a chance to answer back. "Look," he began, "it's a long story, if you really want to know, let's go somewhere other than…" he looked around, "an alley."

Lucy nodded, thinking that was probably best for both of them. "Umm, I was...gonna go to IHOP."

The man snorted. "And you're asking me what I'm doing out so late?" he said, but they still headed in that direction, only needing to turn the corner to reach it.

She turned pink. "You still haven't answered that you know!"

He winced. "It's not as bad as it looks."

She side-eyed him, and he put his hands up in defense. "It isn't, seriously! It's not like I was robbing a bank or somethin'."

Lucy said, "So then what were you doing, Mr. Thief?"

"...okay, fine, I stole something—"

Lucy gasped.

"But it wasn't from a store! I stole some music from my friend, a CD, and he was chasing me."

As they walked into the IHOP, Lucy said, "Wh—a CD? That's what you were running for?" Lucy couldn't believe it, he was running like his life depended on it.

"He would have murdered me if he caught up to me," he said in a tone that was so playful Lucy thought this wasn't the first time he went running for his life because of something as simple as a CD. As if it were a second thought, he added, "And it's Natsu, not Mr. Thief...You gonna order your pancakes?"

"Okay then, Natsu, what if I wanted Waffles?"

He paused to look at her, and that was when she realized pink hair was sticking out of the hoodie Natsu wore. Interesting… "Nah, you seem like a pancake person."

She went to eye him again, wondering if he was either psychic or a stalker, but this time she met dark, forest green eyes that seemed somewhat familiar. That was impossible, though; she'd only met him a few minutes ago. Shaking her head, she let it go. It's not like it was the first time she'd seen green eyes or something. "Okay, fine," she said, "I am getting pancakes. Are you getting anything?"

"I would, but that would mean I'd actually have to steal."

"Okay, I think that's enough talk about stealing. Where even is that CD you took from your friend, anyways?"

Natsu brought a hand to his hoodie's pocket to grab the disk. "Right here."

It looked like Natsu didn't think bringing the case along with him was a good idea. "You don't think that will break?"

"What, this?" he said, holding up the disk.

Lucy nodded.

"Nah, it's not the first time I've taken some of his music." And that confirmed Lucy's previous suspicions.

"To go or are you going to sit down?" the waitress in front of them asked, reminding Lucy exactly where they were.

"Oh! Sorry; it's to go."

"M'kay, what are you going to get?"

"Just a full stack of your buttermilk pancakes, please. And a side of fresh fruit too."

"Alright, and for you, sir? The same?"

"Nope!" Natsu said. "I don't want anything." He gave the waitress a Cheshire grin Lucy knew would make any girl's insides melt, but she just rolled her eyes. Did he know he smiled like that? Probably not, if he thought snatching someone's hand and dragging them into an ally didn't seem like a problem for him, she was sure he didn't pay mind to things like how a smile made someone feel.

After the waitress questioned if Natsu was sure he didn't want anything five more times, they waited for Lucy's food, although Lucy wasn't sure why Natsu was still there to begin with.

"You know you can leave, right?" she asked.

Natsu shrugged his shoulders. "S'not like I have anything to do right now."

Lucy sighed.

Once Lucy got called to get her food, she walked out with Natsu still by her side. "You really don't have to follow me home, you know."

"Maybe, but it's almost midnight. Who knows what kind of creeps you'll run into."

"Oh reaaally," she said. He was one to talk.

He turned to look at her with a face-splitting grin. It was different from the one he gave the waitress, though she wasn't sure how she could tell. "Yup."

Lucy simply shook her head with a smile of her own.

When they finally got to Lucy's apartment complex, Natsu instantly asked for Lucy's phone number. For a second, she thought he was romantically interested in her, but at the look on his face, she knew he solely meant it platonically. With the bit of time she spent with him, she had a feeling people loved to be around him—if only to be his friend. Who wouldn't want to be with a person as cheery as Natsu?

"What's your name?" he asked.

Her eyes widened. "You don't—oh, never mind. It's Lucy."

"Alright, then Lucy, let's get pancakes again sometime." He got closer to her ear, completely ignoring the existence of personal space. "I'll bring money next time too!"

Lucy laughed and said goodnight to the man who ran into her that day. Promising that she would call him next time she went out for pancakes. She wouldn't be surprised if that happened to be sooner rather than later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! It's a first chapter. I'm not sure how many chapters this story will have in total, but it's roughly 15 right now. Believe it or not, this story started off as just the sentence, "Pancakes at midnight." Because I have actually gone to IHOP at midnight, and it wasn't that bad. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! And I hope you like how things are going so far! I'll trying and have the next one up in a week, but it could be two. Just know it will be up at some point. Thank you!
> 
> This chapter is definitely a lot happier than the last one, but that was just the prologue. To explain why Lucy feels this sense of calm around so stranger she just met. I know it's possible, I have a really good friend right now who I met in a school lunch line years ago.
> 
> I really like how they were interacting here and I really enjoyed their talking. It's my favorite thing to read about Natsu and Lucy doing. I have most of this story planned out! Yay! The last time I actually planned a story was maybe 2 years ago, but I think I really enjoyed it; it gave me a sense of control. That's all I have to say for now, I hope you liked it! And thank you so much for taking the time to read it!
> 
> Oh! And feel free to leave a comment if you like, too! I've been leaving so many comments on fanfics lately, and I've found that it makes the authors of the story, oh, so happy!


	3. You're Paying

“Same thing, you two?” the waitress asked.

“Yup!” Natsu exclaimed at the same time that Lucy said, “A crêpe, this time.”

After the second time, Lucy went out to get IHOP with Natsu, she didn’t expect it to become a normal occurrence, but it did. Not that they didn't go to other places. There were bakeries they went to like the one Lucy worked at. Or even the college campus Natsu went to.

Maybe it was the strange familiarity that they both happened to feel toward each other or the friendly vibes that they both gave off. Either way, they didn’t mind, because hanging out together was always exciting for them.

As Natsu and Lucy headed to a booth to eat, Lucy asked, “So what were you saying Gray did to you this time?” She finally learned who it was Natsu was running from the night he crashed into her. It was kind of inevitable when he came running to her apartment two weeks ago hoping for a place to hide (He stole another cd...). Natsu didn't mind telling her why either if it meant his hiding spot was guaranteed. Not to mention Lucy hadn't met Gray yet, so he wouldn't be able to find him there.

“He took one of my video games!”

Lucy paused. “Don’t you always do that to him?”

He tsked. “That doesn’t mean he can do the same,” he mumbled.

Lucy's cheeks puffed out a little, and he knew she was trying to stifle her laugh, but a small giggle came out, and when Natsu shouted, “It’s  _ true _ !” like a whiny child, she couldn’t hold any of it back at all.

Natsu was about to retaliate with another comment when an idea struck him. As Lucy continued on with her laughter, Natsu took it upon himself to use his fork to take a piece of her crêpe...Then another and another until Lucy finally stopped her laughter to see him bring the rest of the crêpe up to his mouth.

He paused so he could mess with her even more. “Want some?” he asked casually, bringing the fork to her face. A smile threatened to tug at his lips.

Lucy’s eye twitched, and for a moment, Natsu thought she might just explode in the pancake house. Of course, that  _ wasn’t _ what happened, and Natsu would be lying if he said he wasn’t happy about that. He hadn't necessarily seen Lucy angry before...but he had a feeling her rage wasn't something anyone would want to mess with.

Instead, Lucy took it upon herself to say, “Why yes, thank you,” and bring her mouth forward to take all of the crêpe into her mouth. “You’re paying,” she mumbled through her food.

Natsu would have responded, he would have, but he was left surprised by Lucy’s actions, wondering how on earth she could be laughing one minute and sassy the next... _ Weird. _

Regardless of what Natsu thought, he really did end up paying for their Saturday breakfast. They decided they probably shouldn’t try heading to IHOP at midnight again. It was more like brunch, but details, details. He couldn’t really blame her, given that he ate her food, so he just paid like she said to. Lucy had tried to pay half, saying she was kidding when she said he had to pay, but Natsu didn’t really mind.

So, Lucy offered to get ice cream, and who was Natsu to decline ice cream?

As they walked to the ice cream shop, Fairy Delights, Natsu asked, “So how’s that bakery you’re workin’ at going?”

“Starry Night?”

“Mhmm.”

Lucy shrugged her shoulders. “It hasn’t been very busy, really.” She smiled. “People like ice cream more during the summer.” Lucy took a second to glance at him as they continued walking. “What, are you interested in trying a cupcake?” Natsu’s eyes widened in disbelief, and Lucy snorted. 

When Lucy told Natsu that she worked at a bakery that mainly makes cupcakes and he made a face, she questioned him. After that, he said that, although he could handle things like ice cream and cookies, he detested cupcakes.

“Of course not!”

Lucy chuckled. “Is there  _ anything _ you would want from Starry Night?”

“Do you guys have hot chocolate?”

“Ooh, you like hot chocolate too? Not a coffee person?”

Natsu wrinkled his nose. “Caffeine smells too strong.”

“Well,” Lucy began, “lucky for you, we do have hot chocolate, so just come over anytime you want any.”

Natsu smiled, mentally noting to himself that he would have to take her up on that offer.

Looking ahead, Natsu saw them only a few feet away from the ice cream shop, so he grabbed Lucy’s hand to run the rest of the short way there.

“Slow it down, will you?” she shouted.

He looked back at her. “Why? We’re here already, see?” And with that, he stopped dead in his tracks, but Lucy couldn’t. 

She went face planting towards the sidewalk before Natsu caught her like he had the first time they met.

“Gotcha!” he said, dragging her back up to stand.

Slightly disoriented, Lucy smiled and said, “Thanks.”

Natsu opened the door to the ice cream shop to let her in first.

“So, you’re gonna pay, right?” Natsu asked her. He knew the answer was already yes, but he still wanted to ask.

Lucy eyed him precariously. “You’re not planning on buying five scoops, are you?”

“Of course not!” If he was going to get five scoops, he would pay himself.

Lucy smirked. “Good, then yes.” She looked forward, making her way to the line for the ice cream. “You do know what you’ll be getting though, right?”

“Do they have cinnamon!” he asked childishly. The biggest grin stretched his face, and even Natsu knew how silly he may look. It wasn’t  _ really _ his fault that he loved the ice cream flavor so much. He’d tried the spicy chocolate thing, and...let’s just say it didn’t go down very well. So, Natsu settled for the next best thing, cinnamon! It wasn’t spicy per se, but it had that kick Natsu was looking for.

He expected Lucy to laugh at him and send a strange face his way, but she simply said, “Yeah they do! This place has everything! Even ice cream with alcohol!”

“Really?!” He'd never heard of an ice cream shop with alcoholic ice cream.

“They have signs for it.” As they got closer to the front Lucy asked, “You said cinnamon, right?”

Natsu nodded eagerly and Lucy gave him a thumbs up.

“Hi,” Lucy said, “Can I get two scoops of you guys’ cinnamon ice cream?”

“Sure thing!” the cheery lady replied. “Coming right up.”

Natsu and Lucy stood there to wait when Lucy’s phone began to vibrate. Jumping, she grabbed it to see that Levy was calling her. Lucy pressed answer while giving money to the lady as Natsu grabbed his ice cream, and they both walked out of the shop, simply wandering around for the moment.

Natsu could practically burst! He couldn’t remember the last time he ate cinnamon ice cream, but when he took one taste of it, his eyes lit up. It was delicious! He turned to say thank her only to be met with a very high pitched squeal, and he had to suppress the urge to cover his ears. He met her eyes and raised an eyebrow in question.

“I’ll head over there right now, Levy!” she said. “Just give me 10 minutes tops!” Then, she hung up her phone and smiled towards Natsu before grabbing his hand. 

The moment she touched his hand, a shock traveled up his arm, and his eyes widened.  _ What was  _ that _?  _ He was left wondering. But, like anything Natsu did, he simply shrugged his shoulders and focused on what was happening in front of him instead. “Hey! Don’t walk so fast! I still have my ice cream!”

Lucy threw her head back and laughed, keeping the same walking pace. “Don’t like being pulled around, do you?”

“Where are we going, anyway?”

“A bookstore!”

“Oh…” Natsu started, “what?! What are you gonna do there! You're speed-walking like your life depends on it.”

Lucy ignored his first question, only answering the last. “That's because I  _ need  _ it. I've been waiting years for the sequel to come out!” She didn’t give Natsu the chance to respond with another smart remark as she pulled him along even faster than before, forcing him to scarf down the rest of his dessert. “Come on! I’ve got first dibs on this new release, but we have to get there in at most ten minutes!”

Natsu perked up. 10 minutes? He smirked. He started walking faster than her, forcing her to jog. “I can get you there in 5!”

“Wh—you don’t even know where you’re going!”

“I’ll figure it out!”

“Natsu!”

All he did was laugh and continue walking in a random direction. Eventually, he just let Lucy lead the way, Lucy grateful that he was somehow able to bring them only a block away from the bookstore. There never was a dull moment with the other, even when the day started off with IHOP.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, and there goes the second one. I think, for the most part I really enjoyed this chapter. It feels maybe a bit rushed, but I think it's okay, especially with the . When I went on this whole planned out trip a few years back, I learned that you can do a lot of things in the time span of a day when you aren't on your phone constantly. And when you're with friends, I think not being on your phone is easier. I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter and thank you so much for taking the time to do so as well.
> 
> I really don't think I'm going to get more into their lives and those problems that we tend to ignore because it's easier that way, until I solidify a nice solid friendship between them (It feels like it's going pretty well, too). I just don't want things to feel rushed! So, don't expect tons of drama too soon!
> 
> Maybe it's just me, but if Natsu has a strong nose, I really don't think he would like coffee like he does in other stories. Not that those are wrong, I just know that coffee smells too strong for me, and my nose is pretty sensitive, so I felt Natsu might be the same. Coffee gives me bad headaches because of how strong it is, so yeah. 
> 
> I researched so many little things for this chapter, but it was fun for me. Like, whether IHOP even had crêpes and if cinnamon ice cream is even a thing. I'm actually going out to try some later today, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited. 
> 
> Also, I'm really sorry if you think I'm writing too much in these ending notes! I only talk to one other person about my writing, and even then, they don't know I'm writing fan fiction. So, I just like to share my thoughts.
> 
> Anyways, that's all for now. Thank you so much for reading and, hopefully, I see you all again when I update next!


	4. Hide Me, Please!

The small studio apartment Lucy owned wasn’t necessarily something to be jealous of. There wasn't much space and not much decoration either. It really only had what Lucy needed and nothing more, save for the books and stacks of sticky notes you could find around the place.

She was a writer, for goodness’ sake! She couldn’t help it if a really amazing idea popped into her mind out of nowhere. If she didn’t write it down right then and there, she would regret it later.

When Lucy first went looking for a place to live, she didn’t think she would find a place so easily. 

She had always heard of how people had to go to lots of open houses and look at so many different apartments until they found one that was good enough for them. Either there wasn’t enough room or there was enough room, but the place needed lots of renovating. 

Luckily for her, she came across this apartment on her first try, and she couldn’t be any more thankful. 

The only really private place was probably the bathroom, but Lucy didn’t mind. There was this half-wall that her bed frame touched and that separated her “room” from the living room area. All of this was on the right side of the apartment. Her bed was only twin-sized, but she never moved much in her sleep, so she didn’t need a lot of room anyway. Her living room consisted of a long couch and an armchair.

Across from the living room was her kitchen.

Lucy didn’t always cook much, but she knew how to, and she adored everything about the kitchen. Everything revolved around the color gray in her kitchen. Gray cabinets, a dark gray stove, a gray refrigerator… The countertops were a white color that she suspected was like a fake marble. When she first tried baking cupcakes in the oven, she fell in love with how nicely they baked. They were so evenly baked, she almost couldn’t believe it.

Not to mention the view she got from her window. At most, she expected the view of a brick wall with an alley down below. That’s how apartments in cities normally worked. Instead, though, she was met with the perfect view of the sky and, in the evenings, the sunsetting.

Needless to say, she fell in love with the place as soon as she’d laid her eyes on it.

She felt the place was perfect for guests too, whenever she had them. It was cozy, and she felt it made people feel comfortable. Like at that moment now.

“So let me get this straight,” Lucy said, a teasing smile on her face and a cup of tea in her hand. She handed the other cup of tea to her guest, “you actually found someone you want to settle down with?”

Loke eyed her. “You make it sound unbelievable.”

She laughed. “Because it is! You were voted Least Likely to Settle Down in high school, weren’t you?”

He had always been known as one of those playboys, and if Lucy hadn’t known that, she probably would have fallen for him. But he was kind of like her only friend growing up, at least the only one her father was okay with, so she learned about him quickly. That, and it just would have been weird.

“...yeah.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “So who is this,  _ mysterious _ person you have yet to name?”

Loke sighed as he looked up at the ceiling, and Lucy swore she could see hearts coming out of his eyes. “Her name is Aries, and she…” He sighed again. “She’s so lovely, and she’s got the biggest heart, and she might just be the sweetest thing in the world. I didn’t know there was anyone as wonderful and caring as her before I met her.” He turned his head to Lucy with one of those small, vulnerable smiles she rarely saw from him. “I’ll be honest, I’m surprised she even gave me a chance.

Her eyes widened. Maybe he  _ was _ in love. Out of all the time she’d known him, she had never seen him so...infatuated with someone. It almost made her think about her own non-existent love life, but she pushed those thoughts away, wanting to figure out more about this girl who was able to capture Loke’s heart. “She must be a really good person then,” she said. Then she smiled. “But never did I think you would ever say anything like that about anyone but yourself!”

“Hey!” he shouted.

Lucy laughed and smiled at her long-time friend. “Well, either way, I’m glad you found someone to love.”

He blushed, and Lucy couldn’t help but find the sight humorous. Oh, how this girl had changed the way he was before. “I never said I loved her…” he said.

“Don’t even try that with me! I know, just as well as you do, that you looove her.”

“Oh, yeah?” he retorted. “And what about that guy you told  _ me _ about?” he shot back.

Okay, now Lucy was confused. “Who are you talking about?”

“That pinkie guy.”

“Natsu?”

He nodded.

“What? He’s my friend!” she laughed.

Loke smirked. “Right…”

“It’s true!” Did he really not believe her?

“You said you felt weird around him, didn’t you?”

“Not like that!” she said as she blushed, but even then, Lucy wasn’t sure how to explain how she felt. There was no way to describe it, but when she thought about it, she kind of understood how he could get it confused with romantic feelings. “I just...he makes me feel comfortable, or something. I don’t know! It’s like I’ve known him all my life! But that’s impossible because I only met him a few weeks ago.”

“Still sounds like a connection to me,” Loke said. Now he was just messing with her.

“It’s not—”

Suddenly, Lucy’s apartment door swung open, and a frantic Natsu came in, asking Lucy for the umpteenth time to, “Hide me, Lucy! Please!”

Lucy held the bridge of her nose and sighed. She would not get angry, she would not get angry, she would not get angry. That’s what she told herself. Because despite Natsu’s lack of boundaries when it came to—anything, really, getting angry would do nothing for her. This was her new normal, and the only way to change that was to say goodbye to Natsu, and she didn’t really want to do that.

She turned to Loke only to see him looking at Natsu with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. Lucy was sure he recognized who he was because of his hair, but it seemed Lucy may have forgotten to mention just how often he comes randomly barging in on her life.

And of all times Natsu could barge into her apartment, now just  _ had _ to be one of them.

“Who’s this guy?!” Natsu questioned.

Lucy sighed again and gave a tight smile.  _ She wouldn’t get angry _ . “Natsu, this is Loke, an old friend of mine. Loke, this is Natsu.”

“Who?” Natsu asked. At the same time, Loke said, “Hello.”

“Let me go get you some water,” Lucy mumbled to Natsu agitatedly as she walked to the fridge that was only a few feet away. 

This shouldn’t take that much explaining. It wasn’t like one of those crazy drawn-out dramas on TV. She was glad her life wasn’t like that. She just wanted to know why, of all people, why did it have to be  _ her. _

She walked back to Natsu to give him the water bottle, pushing him towards the couch so he could sit down. “Now,” she said, “how about I formally introduce you to my friend, Loke?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's chapter 3 for you! I was struggling a little bit to end this chapter, but I managed to end it nicely, in my opinion. I hope you enjoyed it! Feel free to comment if you like, but don't feel obligated to. I'll see you next week!
> 
> I didn't necessarily do research for this chapter, but I did have to ask around to figure out how a guy who's in love would describe said person. Luckily, I could just ask my friend's boyfriend! I didn't expect to get something so sweet, but it really ended up helping me with how Loke would describe Aries.
> 
> As for Lucy and Loke being friends and all that, I've always felt like that's what they would be because beyond Loke's flirty attitude, I feel like Lucy really trusts him. That's why I wanted them to be close friends in this story.
> 
> Like I was saying, the ending was a little hard for me to write, but I eventually ended with this and I think it fits! So, I'm happy. I'm excited to start up the next chapter because then Lucy's now-friend will be meeting her old friend.
> 
> I've been re-watching Fairy Tail lately as well as re-reading it, and I must say, there were a lot more cringe-worthy moments than I thought there was, lol. I still like it, and I've been noticing little Nalu things that I hadn't noticed before, so it's fine. I'm also trying to re-watch it and stuff so I can better portray their personalities when I'm writing. I will admit, that there will most likely be a few things that are out of character for them, but I want to keep them the same as best I can. Because I love their personalities!
> 
> Anyways, that'll be about it for this week, I hope you had fun reading this, and until next time!


	5. Writer's Block

There was another reason that Loke and Lucy became such close friends growing up, and that was because his father was friends with Lucy’s father. It couldn't really be helped with all the business deals they made with each other.

In the lonely mansion of hers (in her lonely  _ life) _ , Loke was welcome company, for the most part. He understood what she was going through to an extent, and she felt that was another reason she got along with him. More importantly, though, she could trust him.

This was especially true when he was the one who got them out of that weird arranged marriage thing with their parents. That wasn't the greatest time of her high school career, that's for sure.

“So, he was the one who your dad tried to marry you off to?” Natsu said, lifting one of his eyebrows in thought as he took a sip of water.

“Yes, he’s that friend,” Lucy said. She seemed tired from the way her eyebrows were creased, but maybe that was just her frustration at this situation. The first few times he barged into her apartment, she was yelling bloody murder. He wouldn’t have been surprised if she thought he actually was a murderer at the time. It took promising to pay for all the food he eats for the next 5 Saturdays to make her let him stay.

Natsu remembered when Lucy had mentioned the whole marriage thing at some point during one of their breakfasts. He couldn't remember how it was brought up, not sure how something like that would be brought up in a normal conversation to begin with. Then again, they never really did have "normal" conversations. But, if he remembered correctly, Loke had called Lucy for some reason or the other. It was probably why he was here now.

Standing up, Natsu went to go shake hands with Loke, saying, “Hi! Nice to meet ya! The name’s Natsu!”

“Hello, Natsu, it’s nice to finally meet Lucy’s lover,” Loke said, returning his handshake.

Natsu heard Lucy spout incoherent words at Loke, but he tilted his head, not really sure what this guy was going on about. He might be just as weird as Lucy! Natsu wouldn't have been surprised if they were somehow related in another world.

Then, a voice he could only describe as scary growled Loke's name, and if had been directed towards him, he knew he would have had goosebumps trailing up and down his arm.

Natsu turned to where Loke had been sitting only to see he had already gotten up and was heading towards the door. He assumed it was because he valued his life.

“Oh, look at the time!” he said. “It seems that I have to take my leave, then. I'll see you later, Lucy. Natsu." With that, he was out the door.

Lucy took one of her couch pillows, and with another screech of his name, threw it towards the closed door from her armchair. She huffed, and Natsu made sure to not laugh. Even if the urge to do so was strong. Instead, he settled with asking her what he meant. “So, what was that Loke guy talking about?”

Lucy turned beet red, and he wasn’t sure if it was from agitation or his question. Maybe it was both. “ _ Nothing.  _ Nothing. I’m fine.”

Natsu laughed. “Wasn’t really what I was asking, but okay. You're pretty weird, Lucy.”

Natsu hadn’t known Lucy as long as he had known the rest of his friends, but in that short amount of time he had gotten to know Lucy, he had learned almost as much as he knew about his older friends. She had her secrets, but for the most part, she was an open book that loved getting to know people and people getting to know her in return.

“What did you even come running here for anyways? You looked more scared than you normally would be,” she said.

That reminded him of his current predicament, and all the blood drained from his face, making him a ghostly white. He turned to Lucy and pleaded with her, grabbing one of her arms and bowing his head. “If a girl with blue hair and murder in her eyes comes knocking at your door, tell her I’m not her, got it!  _ Please _ ! I’m too young to die!”

He looked Lucy in the eye and saw how wide her eyes had gotten. “Did you run into a psychopath or something?!”

Natsu shivered as he remembered the deadly intent in the girl’s eyes. Saying he ran into a psychopath might have been right. “I was going to Gray’s to go take something again—”

Lucy rolled her eyes. “Typical.”

Natsu sat back down, letting go of Lucy's arm. “But this time Juvia was there! I think she’s more protective of Gray than I am of Happy!” he said, lifting his arms in exasperation.

“And Juvia is…?”

“Gray’s girlfriend!” he shouted. “Didn’t I tell you this?”

“No, you didn’t,” Lucy said in a deadpan voice. She shook her head. “That still doesn’t explain why she was trying to  _ murder _ you.”

“How am I supposed to know!”

Lucy sighed, and shrugged her shoulders forward, almost as if letting go of any tension that was in her body. “Whatever, I'll deal with this later. You can take refuge here, just... don't rummage through my fridge, okay?”

“Aye, sir!” Natsu said, giving her a mock salute.

Lucy laughed, and he smiled back at her as she headed for her bathroom, most likely taking one of those long baths of hers.

And as Lucy said not to rummage through her fridge, that was just what Natsu was going to do. Getting up from the couch, he first went to throw away the empty water bottle in his hand, having drunk all of it already. Then, he went towards the fridge, hoping to find something to snack on.

Sadly, the only thing in her fridge was water, milk, eggs, and leftover batter for cupcakes! It seemed that Lucy needed to go out for groceries that day. Grumbling, he turned to look at her cabinets, hoping that maybe she would have a bag of chips in there.

...there wasn’t.

With a frustrated groan, Natsu closed the cabinet he had been looking in and dragged his feet towards the couch, face planting into the cushions with one leg dangling on the side. Could this be any more boring? Probably. Did that change anything? No.

With a sigh of his own, Natsu got back up, walking back and forth aimlessly around Lucy’s apartment. He wasn’t sure how long he spent doing just that before Lucy’s open laptop near her bed caught his attention.

Now, Natsu wasn’t normally the type of person to snoop around, but Lucy was an exception. Messing with her was funny, and at this point, it was just something that happened. She didn’t mind very much anyways, only whacking him in the back of the head when he tried getting into the kitchen of Starry Night. It really wasn’t his fault he was so curious. He had always loved exploring as a kid, and that hadn’t changed at all since then either.

So, he walked towards her bed, but just as he was about to turn the device to face him, the bathroom door opened, and out came Lucy. Natsu shut his eyes, waiting for her outburst to come. It seemed he had been wrong. She hadn’t taken a bath; she had taken a shower, and those took much less time than her baths did.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?” she shouted, rushing over to swipe the laptop from Natsu before he could look any further.

Natsu turned to look at Lucy only to find her red in the face, and he still couldn’t tell what the reason was. Hoping to make her feel better, he said, “Sorry, sorry! I didn’t see anything if that's what you're worried about..”

Lucy let out a sigh that was much louder than Natsu thought necessary. It only made Natsu more curious as to what could possibly be on that laptop of hers. “Is what’s on there really that big a deal?”

Lucy held the laptop close to her chest as she fidgeted in her spot. “It...it has my writing on it,” she mumbled, taking a step to sit down on her bed, “and I was writing in the morning before Loke came over. Or, at least  _ trying _ too.”

“So you  _ were _ writing or you weren’t.”

Lucy groaned, and this Natsu knew for sure was out of frustration. “I haven’t been able to write anything in an entire week!” Putting her computer down beside her, Lucy pouted and folded her arms together. “It’s been really annoying, and nothing has been inspiring me either.”

Natsu perked up. This was one thing he knew he could help Lucy with! “I’ve got the perfect place to inspire ya!” 

Lucy looked at him hopefully, a huge grin on her face. “Really!”

“Of course! Why would I lie? Now come on, get ready! We can leave now!” Now Natsu was excited. Not only was he helping one of his friends, but he was also getting to do something fun!

“Wh—I still need to eat, Natsu!”

Natsu got up, already heading towards the door so they could leave. “It’s fine. We’ll get somethin’ along the way. Just get your shoes on already! We don’t have all day.”

With another smile, Lucy got up too, going to put on a pair of shoes she had near her bed. “Alright, then. Let’s go!”

And just like that, Natsu and Lucy were off for another day of adventure to somewhere new.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Believe it or not, I actually had a lot of fun writing this chapter. Ever since the chapter where I mention Natsu barging into Lucy's apartment to hide from people's (Gray's) wrath, I've wanted to write a scene where he does just that. The next chapter is going to be a very descriptive one that's for sure! Are you excited to see what Natsu's place for inspiration looks like? I'm definitely excited about writing it! Thank you so much for taking the time to read, and I hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> Let's see, what else do I have to say about this chapter... Well, I was actually having a little writer's block myself when it came to writing about Natsu rummaging and walking around Lucy's apartment. I didn't want to spend too much time just writing about him walking of all things, but I also didn't want to spent not enough time either.
> 
> I'm also hoping that Juvia didn't come off as evil here either! I truly do like her as a character and I think she can be really caring when she wants to, but you have to admit that she can be kind of extreme sometimes, haha. This was just one of those moments.
> 
> This chapter actually didn't take any research when it came to writing it, so that's a first. Anyways, I'll stop my blabbering here. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Comment if you want to comment, and hopefully I'll see you all next week! Thanks!


	6. Komorebi

“How…” Lucy said, the scenery around her leaving her speechless. She didn’t know what to say, not when she was somewhere so beautiful that it looked as if it could only belong in a fairytale.

Trees surrounded them in every direction, towering over their forms like giants, and it took Lucy remembering that Magnolia had forests to understand why. Yellow, blue, and white flowers of all different sizes littered the floors, and further in front of her and Natsu was a pond of sorts with  _ actual _ lily pads floating on top.

There was green everywhere; above them, below them, around them. The small breeze blew through the trees, and Lucy closed her eyes and smiled.  _ How wonderful, _ she thought.

Dappled sunlight shone everywhere, making the water from the pond glisten and the flowers on the ground shine. Lucy knew that if she looked close enough, even the water droplets on the lily pads would sparkle too.

It reminded her of the word komorebi. It found its way to her through a random postcard in a store. Komorebi meant sunlight that filters through the leaves of trees, but Lucy didn’t care what it meant at the moment if it made things look as beautiful as they did then.

“I told ya I like exploring. This is just another place I ran into while doin’ that.”

A wave of intense gratitude washed over Lucy, and she speed-walked towards Natsu to engulf him in the tightest hug Lucy could muster without hurting him. “Thank you. This place is beautiful,” she whispered, sinking into Natsu’s warmth.

She felt Natsu stumble back a little from the force, but he quickly hugged her back. “Course!” he said. 

She could hear the smile in his voice, and then she found herself smiling too. This place was definitely going to get her creative juices flowing.

She pulled away so she could pull out her phone, missing the dazed look in Natsu’s eyes as she walked around to take pictures of the place for later reference. 

If only she had remembered to bring her laptop with her in their rush to come here… No matter, she could always come here another time. Lucy couldn’t be more grateful for it only being mid-September. It wasn’t too cold outside yet, the chilly autumn air a few weeks away. It meant that she had more time to come back before freezing outside was a risk for her.

She always was prone to cold weather. Even in high school, the cool air in classrooms could make her fingers turn blue.

Going back to Natsu again after finishing up with her photos, she said, “ _ Please _ tell me you’ll take me back here again!” She looked up at him with the best puppy dog eyes and little pout she could.

He met her eyes with his own, whatever daze he was in before gone. He shrugged his shoulders, saying, “It doesn’t bother me, so why not?”

She squealed loudly, only stopping when she saw Natsu wince at the sound. “Sorry,” she said. “I’m just really happy! I have tons of ideas for my novel now!”

Natsu grinned at her. “I’m glad I could help.”

“You were  _ tons _ of help!” Lucy said, still not over the beauty of the place she was standing in. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen somewhere so amazing!”

Natsu laughed. “Well, it wasn’t like you could say anything when you first saw the place.”

Lucy tried glaring at him, but that smile she had since the beginning couldn’t seem to leave her face, taking away all the force the glare was supposed to have. It only made Natsu laugh harder.

Deciding to let it go, Lucy smiled at his bent form, and her eyes softened. This moment was peaceful, and she found that she wouldn’t have been angry if time decided to stop right then and there.

* * *

There was no other way to describe Starry Night except for calm and bright. As a bakery that also happened to sell coffee, it got a lot of children and studying college students.

The walls were a deep blue that gave off a very mellow feeling. A mixture of high and short tables were scattered around the area, and white lights dangled from the ceiling.

Lucy’s favorite part about the place had to be the constellations that the owner of the bakery, Virgo, somehow got someone to paint up there. It was a beautiful gold, and it reminded her of the time she spent with her mother learning the constellations.

At that moment, Lucy was busy ringing up a mother and her child who was buying their confetti cupcake. Lucy smiled and said thank you to them as they took their cupcake, resting her weight against the counter in front of her once they left. Lucy looked up to where a clock was hanging on the wall and sighed. She ended the day at 6:00, and it was only 12:00.

Virgo hadn’t been able to come in that day, leaving Lucy all to her lonesome. Natsu had brought her out to that pond area again for someone more inspiration the day before, and Lucy had spent many hours into the night typing on her computer. She might have regretted staying up now. It hadn’t been a busy day, but it didn’t make her any less tired.

Covering her mouth, she yawned, and as the familiar ding of a bell signaled the entrance of a new person, she blinked whatever sleep she had left away. “Hello!” she greeted. “Welcome to Starry—” she stopped when she saw that it was Natsu who had walked in. “Oh, hey Natsu!” She waved at him as he walked towards her.

He lifted his hand to greet her back, shouting, “Yo!” in return.

“Coming from one of your classes?” 

Natsu was a student at Magnolia University who was majoring in chemistry. He had told her that he didn’t know what he wanted to be but had always been good at science, chemistry being his favorite.

He nodded with a broad smile, and Lucy smiled back.

“Are you finally gonna try a cupcake today?” Lucy asked, eyes lighting up with humor. 

Despite knowing he doesn’t like cupcakes (for reasons that were impossible for Lucy to understand), she still tried asking him anytime he came to get something from the bakery. He always said no with a look of pure disgust, simply ordering a hot chocolate for later. So imagine her surprise when he actually said yes this time around.

“Wait, really?” She didn’t even give him a chance to confirm, lest he takes his answer back, as she went to get their lemon cupcake. Lucy hoped maybe the tang would take away any sweetness or whatever it was that he disliked about cupcakes.

She went back to the counter to hand Natsu the cupcake. “Here, try this one,” she said.

Skeptically, Natsu picked up the cupcake and brought part of the liner back to take a bite, but as soon as he tasted it, he made a face. He set the rest of the cupcake on the counter and slowly chewed the rest of what was in his mouth, forcing himself to swallow it down.

Lucy giggled. “I’m guessing you don’t like it?”

“Blegh," Natsu said, sticking his tongue out. "Definitely not! What was that thing?”

“That’s our cupcake with the least amount of sweetness.”

“ _ Least! _ ” he shouted in disbelief. A few people turned in their direction, and Lucy had to fight the urge to turn red. She knew Natu didn’t care much about who was staring at him, unaffected at all by the people’s eyes on them. She couldn’t help but sigh when they turned their attention somewhere else.

“Keep your voice down,” she whisper-shouted. “Now, do you want me to get you a hot chocolate too? It’s a little chilly outside today.” Even as she said that she knew that the cold didn’t matter to him.

“It’s not that cold,” he said, and Lucy rolled her eyes. “But, yeah sure.”

“Was that the only reason you wanted to come here? You don’t normally say yes to trying a cupcake.”

“And I’m never gonna say yes again,” Natsu told her. “But yeah, I came for somethin’ else. You remember Wendy, right?”

“Your cousin?”

Natsu sighed. “Yeah. Her birthday’s comin’ up, but everyone’s working, so I’m wanting to do something for her.”

Lucy’s heart swelled at the act of kindness. “Well, aren’t you just the sweetest,” Lucy cooed. 

Natsu only had an older brother. He was adopted alongside Natsu, but Lucy always felt like he cared for Wendy like a younger sister. Maybe it was because he spent most of his childhood alone, Zeref having gone off to college to study medicine, but Lucy had a feeling it was one of the reasons he got along with his younger cousin so well.

Lucy had only met Wendy once when she was dropped off at Natsu’s apartment to hang out with him while Lucy was there. She was a shy girl but a very kind one at that.

“Yeah, yeah,” Natsu said, waving off her semi-compliment. “I was just gonna ask if I could get some cupcakes for her. For catering.”

Lucy smiled, and she had to restrain herself from becoming a bouncing ball of energy. She cleared her throat, grabbing a binder filled with lists of the different flavors they had from below the counter. “You can be sure that I’m going to make the best cupcakes  _ ever _ for Wendy’s birthday!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! to believe it's been almost a month since I first started this. I don't think I expected for myself to make it this far, but I'm really glad I did! It makes me happy to write things that I know people might enjoy! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter too, especially the beginning. I don't know if it's just me, but I absolutely love describing beautiful places. I'm hope you had lots of enjoyed reading this chapter! 'Till next time!
> 
> As for other things, I genuinely believe that if Natsu lived in the real world, he would explore to his heart's content and find tons of different, beautiful places by accident. I live near the city, so there isn't any wandering off for me, but I've been to a small town with forests around it, and you could find anything beautiful if you just looked for it. I crammed quite a bit of information about Natsu in this chapter, but I think I'm okay with that!
> 
> I really like how my description of the bakery turned out! I wish there was a place like that that actually existed. I mean, can you imagine walking into a bakery, looking up, and seeing constellations looking down on you? It would be amazing!
> 
> Like I said a while back, I've been rewatching Fairy Tail. I just finished the Tartaros arc yesterday, and...to say the least, I spent a good amount of time crying. My throat feels sore this morning! I don't remember it being so sad, but while I was watching it, it really hit me just how many people lost someone that day...and all I could think about was how much pain they were feeling. Then Natsu comes in with the, I-can't-show-you-guys-my-face-until-I'm-stronger thing! It was crazy, and it really, really hurt.
> 
> Anyways...again, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Feel free to leave a comment if you want, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Thanks!


	7. Caramel Honey in a Forest

As Lucy made the final petal of the flowers on Wendy's cupcake, she sighed. She took a seat on the stool that had been lying vacant behind her, sore feet aching.

_ Finally. _

Lucy didn't know why she felt the need to make each and every cupcake (two dozen in total) perfect. She took her time with creating the carefully made frosting-flowers, slowly adding each petal one at a time. The swirls needed to be perfect, and if they weren’t, she would grab a spare and try again.

The small cake she had finished frosting and decorating lay in the fridge so it could keep cool. It was an extra thing she decided to make, what with all the time she had left, and to say the least, she was happy with the end results. The pastel blues, yellows, and greens matched perfectly with each other, and now Lucy just hoped that Wendy would love it as much as she did.

She undid the apron she wore from behind her back, taking it off and resting it on the chair beside her. She looked down at herself to see that splotches of frosting and batter had somehow gotten on her jeans.

Lucy groaned. "Not again!"

With another sigh, she moved from the stool to change her clothes. She may have been doing her job, but that did not mean she had to look like a mess.

Once she finished changing, she grabbed the boxes of cupcakes and the cake from the fridge, heading downstairs and towards her car so she could leave.

* * *

Balancing the cupcakes and the tiny cake in her left hand, Lucy used her right hand to knock on the door. A few seconds later, a girl with blue hair opened the door, and Lucy instantly recognized her as Wendy.

“Wendy! Happy Birthday!” Lucy said. She lowered her arms a little to show Wendy the small cake she made.

“Wow,” Wendy exclaimed, “is that for me?”

Lucy laughed. “Of course!”

Wendy smiled at her, saying, “Thank you, Lucy!”

“Just wait until you see the cupcakes I have too.”

Wendy moved out of the way to let Lucy in, closing the door behind her so that she could lead her to their kitchen. “You can leave them on this counter,” she said.

"Where's Natsu?" Lucy asked, setting the desserts where Wendy told her to.

“He went to the store to get snacks, I think.” The next thing she knew, Wendy was grabbing Lucy’s hand to she lead her somewhere else. “Come on! We can hang out while you wait for him.”

Before she even had a chance to decline, she was being pulled forward towards what she could only assume was the living room.

Their living room was quaint, with a few modern touches here and there. There were beige chairs and a couch, a glass coffee table, and a fireplace. There were white bookshelves on almost every wall and a few plants on their window sills. If Lucy looked close enough, she thought she could see that the books were about medicine.

Their home was very open as their living room connected to their dining room, light colors decorating that area too. There were sliding doors behind their dining table that Lucy guessed led to their backyard. The white colors made things feel calm and peaceful, and she had a feeling it was done for that exact reason.

Wendy must have seen Lucy staring at the books because right after Lucy turned back to her, she was confirming what she thought. “These are my mom’s books. She’s a doctor, so she has a lot of stuff for work!” Wendy said enthusiastically.

Lucy smiled. Natsu had said that Wendy was turning 12 that day. She couldn’t remember much about when she was twelve herself. The most she could remember was feeling lost. It wasn’t in a literal sense, of course. Lucy was just never sure about the future during that time. She didn’t know what she wanted to be or who she wanted to become. It honestly must have been very annoying for 12-year-old Lucy. She was just glad she ended up finding out what she wanted to do...even if her father didn’t approve of it.

With a sigh, Lucy shook her head. Now wasn’t the time to think about her problems; she was supposed to have her focus on Wendy. “So are you wanting to be a doctor too?” she asked, taking a seat down on the couch. 

Wendy sat next to her. “Mhmm! I’m already learning a little bit of the basic stuff, but I still have a lot to learn.”

Lucy’s eyes widened. “That’s amazing!”

“Well, I guess. I’ve always wanted to do the same thing as my mom,” she giggled. “Some of the things she shows me can be really challenging, but I just have to keep pushing forward when I get stuck.”

Lucy smiled. She was definitely a kind girl and a determined one at that. Maybe that was what everyone in Natsu’s family shared; determination.

Lucy had never seen Natsu determined over important things like Wendy was now. What she  _ had _ seen was Natsu determined over some of the simpler things. It was sweet, in a way. People always seemed to give up so easily when things didn’t turn out the way they wanted, but Natsu was different. She didn’t think he quit for anyone. She supposed some people would see it as stubborn, especially when Natsu would refuse to accept something, but she couldn’t help but admire him a little.

It made her think back to the time he was going to show her an old place he used to visit, only to find that it had closed down, but that didn’t stop him. Instead, it made him want to go look for the owner. When he was eventually able to track them down, it surprised Lucy, but she didn’t know why. She should have known he wouldn’t let a simple shop stop him from getting what he wanted.

The memory alone almost made her laugh, but she refrained, instead choosing to keep talking to Wendy. “What else do you like, Wendy?”

“I love sweets!” she exclaimed, and this time Lucy did laugh.

* * *

By the time Natsu got back, Wendy’s friends had also arrived. They had quickly swarmed the girl, giving her hugs and bags with gifts in them, and Lucy was left to just sit there and smile at the sight. Wendy was already leading them to the cupcakes in the kitchen as soon as they let go of her.

Lucy let a content sigh escape her. It was nice knowing Wendy liked the cupcakes she made. Even though she had made cupcakes for people countless times by now, she still worried that they would dislike it, but now that Lucy knew she had done a good job, she supposed it was time to take her leave. 

But as Lucy got up from the couch, preparing to head to the door, a voice called her name.

“Where ya goin’, Lucy?” Natsu asked.

Pausing in her actions, she turned around to find him coming out of the kitchen. There was a giant smile on his face and a bag of chips in his hand. “Huh?” she said, mildly confused.

“Come on, we can go to the backyard while Wendy’s hangin’ out with her friends.”

Lucy hesitated. There wasn’t any reason for her to stay anymore. The only reason she hadn’t left before was because she was talking to Wendy, and she didn’t want to overstay her welcome. But...taking a little time for Natsu was never a problem. She always did have fun when she was with him. Finally making up her mind, Lucy smiled back at him. “Sure.”

His own smile grew wider, much like it normally did, and he went to grab her hand. “Awesome!”

Natsu took her towards the sliding doors, opening it for her to pass through and walking through himself after he flipped a switch that would turn on lights for the backyard. 

Lucy took in their backyard, finding that it was just as light as the rest of their house was. It may have only been 5 in the evening, but the sun was already setting, making the sky look a cotton candy pink. A cloud covered the sun, making the bit of warmth in the air cooler. Two benches were facing each other with a fire pit in between. It made her want s’mores as she thought about roasting marshmallows over a fire.

“Your family comes here for the holidays, don’t they,” Lucy asked as she continued following Natsu towards the bench.

Natsu sighed as he sat down, opening his bag of chips as Lucy sat down too. “Yeah, we do.” He laughed. “Dad kinda just comes because Aunt Grandeeney’s cooking is better than his or Metalicana’s. Aunt Grandeeney makes us come here because she doesn’t trust my dad to cook.”

Lucy giggled as she turned back to look at him. “You guys are really close to each other, huh.”

Natsu pursed his lips. “I don't know...I think we just became that way, really. My dad’s real big on staying on good terms with family. It’s not like he’s actually related to Metalicana or Aunt Grandeeney, but they’ve stuck together since...elementary, I think. I don’t know a lot about his blood family, but I’m happy with the one he chose.” Natsu sent a smirk towards Lucy, mirth shining in his eyes. His eyes grew brighter, reminding Lucy of how being happy made them seemingly change color. “Did you get all that just from comin’ here?” He asked, bringing a handful of chips to his mouth to munch on.

Lucy quietly laughed. “I’m not intentionally analyzing you guys, it just happens.” She shrugged her shoulders as she leaned further into the bench. “I need analyzing skills if I'm going to be a writer.”

Huge bouts of laughter came from the house, loud and full of life, making Lucy glance back there. “They sure sound like they’re enjoying themselves,” Lucy said.

Natsu laughed. “They’re probably stuffin' their face with your cupcakes.”

Lucy’s face split into a huge grin as she said, “Hey! If they like them they like them, but I still don’t understand why you don’t like them.”

His face scrunched up as he ate another chip, chewing and swallowing before he responded. “They just taste weird. But I can’t be the only one who doesn’t like popular stuff like that. Don’t you?” he asked, and Lucy had to admit that he had a point.

“Of course I do,” Lucy said. Then she had to put a finger on her cheek as she took a moment to think of an example. “Like...Oh! I know. Spaghetti. I can’t stand that stuff.” Before he could comment, she sat up straighter, adding, “But that stuff is awful! The texture is just  _ so _ wrong, and it's so messy too, and don't even get me started on the sauce; it's so—”

Natsu just looked at her smug, knowing he had proved his point, and making Lucy go quiet.

Turning her head forward, Lucy rolled her eyes. “Okay, okay, I get it, you’re right.”

“I know I am,” he said.

It made Lucy laugh, and she sighed. A cold breeze blew past her, and she shivered. Yeah...it was most certainly Fall. She lifted her head higher up, seeing the leaves on the trees had turned red, yellow, and orange in the last month.

Calm washed over her again. It was something she found happened a lot when she was around Natsu, like being with him meant that there was nothing for her to worry about. She may not have understood why entirely, assuming that it was because he was always so happy but Lucy didn’t think it really mattered why.

“Halloween’s next week,” Natsu said. He balled up the now empty bag of chips and put it to the side so he could throw it away later.

“It is, isn't it? Are you gonna dress up?” she asked, turning to face him again.

A devious smile was spread across his face, and it made Lucy worry for a second. Either he was planning something  _ very _ evil, or he was planning to scare her. She wouldn’t be surprised if it were both. “I’m going as a dragon king,” he said, cackling afterward.

Lucy’s eyes widened before they shrank. “What. Are. You. Planning, Natsu Dragneel?”

Faster than even Lucy thought possible, he put his hands behind his head and propped his leg up on the edge of the fire pit, creating the “perfect” image of innocence. “Nooothing…” he tried.

“Natsu…” Lucy said, glaring daggers at him.

All he did was burst into laughter, putting his hands up in defense as he looked back at her. “Nothing! Seriously!”

“It better be nothing,” she grumbled. She pointed an accusatory finger at him. “Because if you try scaring me…”

“Aww, come on,” he said, bringing his hands down and sitting back again, “I wouldn’t scare you unless I knew you would be fine.”

Her eyes narrowed even more as she said, “I have a hard time believing that…”

A few seconds of silence passed between them before Natsu spoke. “Hey,” he said, his voice so soft that it almost shocked Lucy, “I promise I won’t scare you if I know it'll hurt you.” 

The clouds decided then to move away from the sun, allowing for its rays to shine down on them and, consequently, Natsu's eyes. The flecks of gold that floated in the green were hard to miss, and Lucy thought maybe someone sprinkled glitter in his eyes when he was younger. There was no other way to describe them but beautiful. 

Her breath hitched, and she could feel how her mouth was slightly agape. Lucy swallowed as she looked into his eyes. They were serious and held so much truth in them, she almost couldn't believe it, but she did. Because this was Natsu, and if Lucy knew anything about Natsu, it was that she could trust him. She smiled. “Okay, I’ll believe you.”

He smiled back, Lucy not noticing how entranced he was with her brown eyes. Not that she would have been able to notice when she was so focused on his own eyes. Warm honey and caramel, that’s what they had looked like to Natsu in that moment. He thought her eyes were beautiful too, and if he had to look into them for eternity, he didn't think he would mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter is by far the longest chapter in this story so far. Again, I truly didn't plan on it being this long, but I'm really happy with the outcome! One of the main reasons I wanted to start writing is so I could get better, and I think compared to the first chapter, this is without a doubt, better. As always, thank you so much for taking the time to read my story! I hope you enjoyed! Thank you to anyone who has left a comment as well! It's fun reading them even when they're a few words long. So, yeah, I hope to see you next time! Thanks!
> 
> Let me just say...I can't believe I actually had to search up what Americans call their aunts and uncles for this chapter. It really isn't my fault though! I'm half Mexican and I don't think I've heard anyone call their aunt or uncle anything other than Tia or Tio. Luckily, I had Reddit to help me! Basically, I feel like with Metalicana, Natsu would totally just use his name, while with Grandeeney would have that whole Aunt thing before that. People had a lot of different ways of addressing their aunts and uncles, so I just mixed it together.
> 
> Grandeeney and Wendy's home is loosely based off of pictures from pinterest, a friend's house, Ikea, and my imagination! If I could draw, I would be drawing every single setting that has appeared in my story, but I can't so I can only describe it to the best of my abilities.
> 
> Oh! And, I'm thinking of doing just a random Halloween chapter for next Saturday. It wasn't in my plot plans, but a small derailment won't hurt me too much. I don't know what I'll do, but I'm thinking maybe trick or treating. Because no matter what anyone has said, you are never to old to trick or treat!
> 
> Lastly, before I leave this chapter alone, while, yes, green eyes are wonderful, brown eyes are so beautiful too! Trust me! I've seen one of my friend's eyes in the sunlight and it was like their eyes went from dark-dark chocolate to absolute golden hour. Now, Chapter six is done! Thanks again for reading, comment if you want to comment, and goodbye!


	8. Haunted Houses Aren't My Thing

It was cliche, really, how Lucy was left trembling in fear as she held onto Natsu’s scaly red arm for dear life. Not that her life was in danger, but if her heart kept beating as quickly as it was then, she wouldn’t be surprised if she was at risk of a heart attack.

_ Let’s go trick-or-treating,  _ he said.  _ We aren’t doing anything else. Just hangin’ out with some friends _ , he said. Yeah, a haunted house certainly wasn't in her plans when she agreed to this.

As Natsu and Lucy rounded the next corner, a face covered in oozing blood, with pale and gray skin, and dark eyes with no whites to be seen jumped out at them, and Lucy screamed as she hid her face in his shoulder.

Natsu’s shoulder began to shake, and despite the loud Halloween music and the screaming coming from all around them, she could hear his loud laughter, no doubt directed at her. She took a moment to elbow him, only making him laugh harder.

How did Lucy get into this situation, you ask? Well, that answer is easy.

* * *

Lucy quietly walked next to Natsu, taking in the houses with extravagant decorations colored orange, black, purple, and green. It was one of the few things she liked about the holiday. Natsu was bickering with Gray as Juvia clung to Gray’s arm. It was only background noise to Lucy, but from what she gathered, Natsu was wanting to trade candy, M&M’s for Crunch.

There were large dragon wings attached to him and medium length horns protruding from the top of his head. They caught her eye for the second time that night, making Lucy realize just how intricate Natsu’s costume was. He didn't care much for coordinating his outfit on a regular basis, but he must have spent hours upon hours of his time creating this costume of his.

Lucy had never been one to go out trick-or-treating for Halloween, had never been one to dress up for it much either. She liked staying at home and watching non-scary Halloween Movies, but Natsu had invited her to go, saying she could bring a friend if she wanted. After more persuasion and a promise of a  _ little bit _ of his chocolate, deciding not to go wasn’t an option, so she invited Levy to come along too.

As Lucy looked behind her for that same friend, wondering where Levy could have gone when she wasn’t sticking by her, she saw her shouting at a man that towered over her five foot stature. He had long black hair and a fair amount of piercings scattered on his skin. It truly was a sight to see. 

Lucy didn’t think she had ever seen Levy lose her temper like that. The girl was normally quite calm in any situation. It took a lot to piss off Levy, and it made Lucy wonder what he could have possibly said to make her blow her fuse.

Lucy turned her head back around and sighed. Looking into her own bag of candy, she grabbed a mango lollipop and took out two of the crunch bars that lingered on top of the stack of candy. She nudged Natsu’s shoulder and handed him the chocolate.

With one of his signature broad grins, he said, “Thanks, Lucy!” He was quick to unwrap the candy and shove it in his mouth, the argument with Gray long forgotten.

Lucy smiled back at him as she brought her lollipop to her own mouth. 

Her fingers were cold, and as a breeze blew past them, she couldn’t be more grateful for the sheer, starry cape she had found in a store a while back, the long curtain of fabric giving her a little solace against the chill. Her black knee-length dress and the witch hat atop her head also comforted her, but even with all that, it didn’t stop her fingers from freezing. If only she had remembered to bring gloves.

There was another house coming up soon that Natsu would no doubt be dragging her towards, but right before they were able to get there, Natsu stopped in his tracks. “Hey, check it out!” he exclaimed, pointing in the direction of what caught his attention. “It’s a haunted house!”

Lucy followed his finger to find that it really was a haunted house. She took the lollipop out of her mouth, putting it back into the wrapping it came in, and dropped it in her bag. 

Fake cobwebs hung from every corner, and even the outside looked old and rickety. The windows were covered in what Lucy assumed was some sort of paint that made it look dusty. Fake tombstones stood around the front of the house with large piles of dirt in front of them. If she squinted, she could make out the bones that stuck out of the dirt in the darkness of the night. 

She might have thought it was just another house decorated extremely well if not for the giant sign that also stuck out of the dirt saying, “HAUNTED HOUSE OPEN! Enter if you dare…”

The sign alone was a little silly, and it didn’t necessarily strike fear into Lucy’s body, but when she heard the obvious sound of someone screaming coming from the house, she knew that assuming it wasn’t frightening would be wrong. 

The more she thought about it, the scarier it got. Why would a random haunted house be in the middle of a neighborhood if not for malicious intent? Maybe that was her writer's side talking, overthinking even the most basic of situations, but the question was still valid. Lucy shook her head, hoping to get those crazy thoughts out of her mind.

“Let’s go check it out!” Natsu said, already walking towards the haunted house. 

Lucy hesitated, not sure if she was really up for it. “Uh, Natsu?” she called out.

He stopped walking to turn back to her. Natsu tilted his head.

“I don’t...I don't know...if I really want to go into a haunted house.” She bit her lip, her heart already racing at the idea of just what could be waiting inside.

Of course, it didn’t seem Natsu was worried at all. He just smiled at her walking back to her. 

Everyone else was already heading inside of the house, and then Lucy felt she was just holding Natsu behind. “I could just wait out here; it’s not a problem for me.”

“Aw, come on, I’ll protect ya!” he said, grabbing her hand. The warmth permeating from his hand was almost enough for her to just agree and come along alone. “Let’s go! You might end up liking it!” He pulled her arm towards him, similar to how a kid would when they wanted their parents to go buy ice cream somewhere.

Lucy furrowed her brows. It  _ was _ only one haunted house. It wasn’t like she was going to be stuck in there forever or anything, and Natsu was right! He would protect her if she ended up becoming too afraid. He may have been a little reckless, not caring for much of anything or the consequences that would follow, but he was careful when it came to his friends. If she really ended up not liking it, she knew without a doubt that he would take her out of there as soon as possible.

Not for the first time, she wished that she saw scary things the way Levy did. She didn’t know why she enjoyed horror movies, but from what she had been told, Levy was more of a critic when it came to this stuff. She spent so much time just researching jumpscares and how they work, along with how the music and characters played into the story. Levy would look at a haunted house and pick out everything they did wrong and everything they did right rather than focusing on what was supposed to frighten her.

Regardless, she trusted Natsu, so she said yes, finally letting him pull her along towards the haunted house.

* * *

“Wanna leave yet?” Natsu said, getting closer to her ear so she could hear him. They were heading towards a pitch-black room where the only light was from the dim hallway they were in.

She wasn’t crying at least, and Natsu was glad for that. He didn’t know what he would do if she started crying, but Natsu knew he would do everything he could to stop it.

Lucy turned her head to look behind them but turned it back around right after, clutching his right arm even tighter. She shook her head. “No way. We’ve already gone too far, so we might as well finish it, right?” She looked up at him and chuckled nervously.

Natsu smiled. “Yeah!” 

Natsu didn’t know what was going on in Lucy’s head with how quiet she was then, but if it was anything like the way they first met, words were flying through her mind faster than she could understand them. It seemed like that was what she did when she was nervous or scared. It was a little strange in Natsu’s opinion. Most people either reacted with fight or flight, but she had this weird combination of both…?

Natsu felt he was more of a fighter, willing to just punch whatever it was that was in front of him rather than run. Not that running away was bad. He learned the hard way that sometimes you needed to run even if you wanted to fight. 

As it turned out, the pitch-black room they were entering wasn't entirely pitch black. Once Natsu and Lucy entered, the sight of clowns, some with decapitated limbs and others with blood and bloody props, sticking out of their mouths, skulls, and body were there to greet them. They had some sort of neon, glow-in-the-dark paint coloring their faces and clothes, making them light up in the dark.

“Oh, jeez,” he heard Lucy mutter, no doubt trying not to have a panic attack.

He turned to look at her, checking to make sure she still hadn’t begun to cry or actually have a panic attack. Her eyes were closed, and it looked like she was relying on Natsu to bring her out of this, but thankfully no tears were in sight. Scaring Lucy was always a little funny, but he felt that he preferred when it was him or their friends scaring her and not someone else.

If he was being honest with himself, the clowns in the room had begun to creep him out too. Their broken and bloodied faces looked a little too real, and he almost thought about running out of the place right then and there. It must have been their eyes, Natsu thought. Their eyes were cold and dead, a look the contact lenses they wore were easily able to pull off. It wasn't the scariest thing he had seen before, but their eyes made him uncomfortable. 

He looked to his side to see Lucy worrying her lip. Right, Lucy trusted him to protect her; that was the only reason she agreed to come in here in the first place. Lucy trusted him to protect her, so protect her he would.

* * *

As soon as Natsu and Lucy were out of the haunted house, she breathed a sigh of relief. “I don’t think I am  _ ever _ doing that again,” Lucy said. She could still feel the adrenaline coursing through her veins, but a smile was on her face.

Natsu laughed. “Did you at least have a little fun?” he asked. He was already digging through his bag of candy again, probably looking for a piece of that Crunch chocolate.

“It was…” Lucy started, “it was interesting, and I was scared, but I feel better now that it’s over.”

“That’s the whole point of scary stuff!” he said once he swallowed down the chocolate. “It’s how ya feel at the end.”

She smiled. “I am not going through all that for a feeling that lasts a minute.”

“Alright. You're missin’ out though.”

“I think I’m fine with that,” she laughed.

“Lu!” she heard. She and Natsu both looked in the direction of the voice to see Levy and everyone else standing off to the side. Now that Lucy thought about it, she began to wonder how long they were in there. It may have felt like an hour when they were in there, but it couldn't have been more than 20 minutes.

They walked over to them as Gray shouted over at Natsu. “What took you guys so long!”

Natsu went on to say a smart remark (Something about taking in all the sights since he was less afraid than Gray.) back as Lucy went to go talk to Levy. “Hey!” Levy said. “You actually went into the haunted house? I thought you hate them.”

“It’s hard to say no when it’s Natsu trying to convince me to do something.”

“Oh?” Levy’s lips stretched into a smirk, mischief in her eyes.

Lucy narrowed her eyes at her. She knew that look. It wasn't her first time seeing it, and she'd be surprised if it were her last. Levy tended to play cupid whenever Lucy befriended any guy. It wasn't new, but sometimes it got tiring, even if Levy was only trying to tease her. “Don’t twist my words into your little match-making game...We’re friends," she said matter-of-factly. Sure he was handsome, and sure he had beautiful eyes, and sure he was sweet and caring, but Lucy could have a handsome and sweet and caring beautiful-eyed friend.

“That’s what they all say…”

“ _ Levy! _ ”

She laughed. “Okay, okay! I’ll stop,” she said. “Did you have fun though?”

Lucy smiled. If you asked her past self the answer would be a blatant no, but she didn’t think that was the case this time around. Even though it may have been scary, and even though haunted houses had never been her thing— “Yeah. I think I did.”—she had to admit, the company was pretty great.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween, Everyone! And to anyone who doesn't celebrate it, I hope you have a great day! This is chapter...8 technically, but the 7th in the main story. It took a lot of thinking, and it was a little tough to write, but I really like how it turned out! I hope you enjoyed reading it, and feel free to leave a comment if you like!
> 
> Like I was saying, thinking up an idea for Halloween was tough, and it took a while for me to write the ending (like it normally does), but I truly am happy with the results. Like it was said in the beginning, it was a little cliche, but still cute nonetheless.
> 
> Oh, but I think thinking of costumes for the two was most difficult. I hope you don't mind that I didn't describe everyone else's costumes! But yeah, Natsu's like a sort of dragon-human hybrid thing while Lucy is a simple witch with a really cute, starry cape.
> 
> Umm, I don't have much else to say about this chapter other than I had to search up info on haunted house. I ended up scaring myself unintentionally, but that's besides the point...I got inspo specifically from this place called Basement of the Dead. The clown picture freaked me out, so that's why I used a whole room of them in the story.
> 
> I'll leave of with that for now. Thanks for taking the time to read my story, and I'll see you next week!


End file.
